Italian All-in-One For Dummies Read Online Free PDF Page A

street addresses confusing in Italian. Occasionally, business addresses include a number and a color (such as rosso [ rohs -soh] [ red ]), and residential numbers are followed by a different color ( blu [blooh] [ blue ], for example). A street may have two buildings with the same number but with a color added. For example, Via Verdi, 86blu ( vee -ah vehr -dee, oht- tahn -tah-sey blooh) may indicate a residence; Via Verdi, 86rosso ( vee -ah vehr -dee, oht- tahn -tah-sey rohs -soh) may indicate a store. These same numbers can be on different buildings, blocks apart, with only the color indicating the correct site.
    Putting Things in Order: Ordinal Numbers
    To express the order, placement, or sequence of things (such as first, fourth, and eighth), you use ordinal numbers. Unlike cardinal numbers, ordinal numbers agree in gender with the nouns or pronouns they modify.
    Table 2-2 lists examples of ordinal numbers in Italian. Note that for numbers one through ten, the ordinal numbers are irregular, meaning they don’t follow the pattern of simply adding -esimo ( eh -see-moh) to their cardinal form. You’ll have to memorize these.
    From 11 to infinity, you form ordinal numbers by dropping the final vowel of cardinal numbers and adding -esimo, with stress on the e. Here are some examples:
    dodicesimo ( 12th ) (doh-dee- cheh -see-moh)
    trentaquattresimo ( 34th ) ( trehn -tah-kwaht- treh -see-moh)
    centesimo ( 100th ) (chehn- teh -see-moh)
    The only exception to this rule is a cardinal number that ends in -tré. In this case, you retain the final vowel, but the stress doesn’t change:
    ventitreesimo ( 23rd ) ( vehnt -tee-treh- eh -see-moh)
    cinquantatreesimo ( 53rd ) (cheen- kwahn -tah-treh- eh -see-moh)
    Table 2-2Ordinal Numbers
Italian
Pronunciation
Translation
primo/prima
pree -moh/ pree -mah
first
secondo/seconda
seh- kohn -doh/seh- kohn -dah
second
terzo/terza
tehr -tsoh/ tehr -tsah
third
quarto/quarta
kwahr -toh/ kwahr -tah
fourth
quinto/quinta
kween -toh/ kween -tah
fifth
sesto/sesta
sehs -toh/ sehs -tah
sixth
settimo/settima
seht -tee-moh/ seht -tee-mah
seventh
ottavo/ottava
oht- tah -voh/oht- tah -vah
eighth
nono/nona
noh -noh/ noh -nah
ninth
decimo/decima
deh -chee-moh/ deh -chee-mah
tenth
undicesimo/undicesima
oohn-dee- cheh -see-moh/oohn-dee- cheh -see-mah
eleventh
quindicesimo/quindicesima
kween-dee- cheh -see-moh/kween-dee- cheh -see-mah
fifteenth
ventesimo/ventesima
vehn- teh -see-moh/vehn- teh -see-mah
twentieth
ventunesimo/ventunesima
vehn-tooh- neh -see-moh/vehn-tooh- neh -see-mah
twenty-first
ventitreesimo/ventitreesima
vehn-tee-treh- eh -see-moh/vehn-tee-treh- eh -see-mah
twenty-third
trentesimo/trentesima
trehn- teh -see-moh/trehn- teh -see-mah
thirtieth
sessantesimo/sessantesima
sehs-sahn- teh -see-moh/sehs-sahn- teh -see-mah
sixtieth
centesimo/centesima
chehn- teh -see-moh/chehn- teh -see-mah
hundredth
millesimo/millesima
meel- leh -see-moh/meel- leh -see-mah
thousandth
milionesimo/milionesima
mee-lyoh- neh -see-moh/mee-lyoh- neh -see-mah
millionth
    Here are several things to keep in mind when using ordinal numbers:
    You want to make sure the ordinal number that precedes a noun agrees in number and gender with that noun. For example:
    Ãˆ la quarta persona nella fila. (eh lah kwahr -tah pehr- soh -nah nehl -lah fee -lah.) ( He is the fourth person in line. )
    Questo è il nono figlio! ( kweh -stoh eh eel noh -noh fee -lyoh!) ( This is the ninth son! )
    prima donna ( pree -mah dohn -nah) ( first lady )
    i primi libri (ee pree -mee lee -bree) ( the first books )
    To indicate something that has happened for the umpteenth time, you can use ennesimo/ennesima. Note that in the following example, ennesima is feminine and singular, as is the noun it modifies, volta.
    Ãˆ l’ennesima volta che me ne parla. (eh lehn- neh -see-mah vohl -tah keh meh neh pahr -lah.) ( It’s the umpteenth time he has talked to me about it. )
    To refer to someone whose title carries a number (such as a king like Henry